Chapter 54
Elea inhaled the crisp, fresh Finnish air as she emerged from the airport.
It felt good to be home. The memory of Liisa was stronger in her hometown.
Despite everything they’d found in Lincoln, her little girl would always be in Porvoo, waiting to be rescued.
Coping with the loss of her child had been one of her biggest challenges, because even if Liisa was alive, she would be an adult now and Elea would have to get to know her all over again.
A traumatised young woman, most likely wondering why her mother saved so many people, but not her.
She pulled her bag over her shoulder. She had left in a hurry, only needing a few basic items, as everything else would be at home.
A mobile-phone power bank, a washcloth and a change of clothes.
She’d dressed for the cold, her boots comfortable but waterproof over her jeans.
Her house lay empty in her absence, her neighbour watering her plants and keeping an eye on things.
At least she’d managed to get some sleep during the flight.
Elea wouldn’t be going home just yet. Her journey would take her straight to Maria.
Straight to Anu. She had it all planned.
She would ask to be alone with Anu, because some things couldn’t be said in front of a parent.
There were all sorts of reasons why children wanted to protect their loved ones from the truth.
No, Elea corrected herself, Anu was an adult now.
She had always thought of Anu as a sad little blonde child, lost and far away.
But the monster who took the girls in Lincoln hadn’t ventured far from their homes.
Had it been the same with her own daughter?
There were plenty of lonely cabins in Finland.
Places miles away from any neighbour, but still close to Porvoo.
Had Liisa been within walking distance all along?
Elea sat in the back of the cab, remembering all the miles she had crossed trying to find her daughter.
The search had been thorough. Sniffer dogs, helicopters, and an army of officers on the ground.
She had driven along every road. Walked the tracks that could not be reached by car.
She had got herself into trouble on more than one occasion when night had closed in, saved only by the tracker that Swann had insisted she put on her phone.
The nights that she had soaked her numb toes, willing life to come back into them.
The countless saunas she had taken, trying to restore her aching body.
After six long months the area had seemed so vast, her search so hopeless.
That was when she became obsessed with work.
Because it would have taken something extraordinary for Liisa to go with a stranger, after everything Elea had taught her about crime.
She’d scrutinised each suspect brought into police custody, sure that she’d see that difference—their ability to gain a young girl’s trust. They wouldn’t have had long to act on that stretch of road at that time of the day.
It would have taken more than brute force alone.
Elea recalled her conversation with Sophie Miller, and how her captor had used a dog to gain her trust. But did he use human traffickers to steal Chelsea first?
It didn’t make any sense. Elea suppressed a shudder.
Mitch was right. They could have been chasing the wrong lead.
Her brows knitted together as her surroundings passed in a blur.
Liisa would have known not to stop for a dog.
So unless he was riding a horse . . . Now there was a creature capable of making Liisa dismiss every sensible thought.
No, don’t be stupid, Elea told herself. It just wasn’t feasible.
There were plenty of car tracks on the road that day, but no sign of bloody horse hooves.
As if Liisa would jump aboard and ride into the sunset with a stranger.
She stared, mesmerised by the flecks of snow touching the windscreen. Soon she would have answers. They would come in the quiet darkness, without fanfare. They would come tonight. She could wait.
She thanked the cab driver, giving a hefty tip as she always did.
He hadn’t been vocal during the journey, and she was grateful for it.
Maria’s cottage was isolated from its neighbours, down an icy track.
Her outside light came on automatically as Elea trudged through the snow.
Maria opened the door, her face bright, despite the late hour.
Years of grief and loss had sunk her eyes deep into her sockets and sharpened her cheekbones.
She was what Elea’s father used to call a “handsome woman,” but had aged terribly over the years.
Her once-long blonde hair was now chopped into a bob, which hung harshly along her jawline.
But tonight there was a sparkle of happiness in her features that Elea had never seen before.
The cabin was warm and cosy, the lights soft.
“It’s good to see you,” Elea whispered. That was the understatement of the century.
They had been on a shared journey that was almost at its end.
Maybe Elea was wrong. The answers would not come quietly.
Now that she was here, she felt like she was hurtling towards a cliff edge.
She wasn’t ready and felt suddenly scared.
She’d always thought that Liisa would surface before Anu.
She couldn’t help the bitterness that bloomed in her chest. Where was Anu?
The question must have been on her face as Maria led her in. “Come. Anu’s in bed.”
Elea nodded, steeling herself as she followed Maria down the hall.